IT IS GREEN IN NIGER!
Between January 12th and 20th, Both ENDS colleague Marie José van der Werff ten Bosch accompanied Chris Reij (CIS, VU University Amsterdam) to the south of Niger, to see with her own eyes what Chris has been advocating for many years now: farmers have turned this dry part of the Sahel green.
Niger can experience tremendous heat and extreme aridity - the north of the country is part of the Sahara Desert. It is the immense heat of the Saharan Desert climatic zone which proves detrimental to the little rainfall coming to this "Frying Pan of the World". Nevertheless, even though we are now in the dry season, the visited areas in the southern Sahelian climatic zone were largely green! Not because of the agricultural crops, but because of the trees growing on farmers' fields. Especially the Faidherbia albida, or Gao in local language, can be seen everywhere: amongst others it fixes nitrogen in the soil, providing free fertilizer. And this odd tree keeps its leaves during the dry season, and sheds them in the rainy season (most trees do the opposite), giving the crops enough sunlight for their growth.
In general trees in and around the agricultural fields, so-called agroforestry systems, give benefits to the farmers. Termites cut up the shedded leaves into miniscule particles that enrich the soils with organic matter.Furthermore, the leaves and fruits of many tree species make good fodder or medicins, or they enrich the human diet. Branches give fire- and construction wood which can be used or sold on the local market. If the branches are cut out with the right pruning techniques, the tree will easily survive, lasting many more years.
In Niger, the trees on farmers' fields have not been planted. These trees have regenerated from the seed stock and root systems still present in the soils. Around Maradi and Zinder in the Southern provinces, farmers have employed a strategy of protecting spontaneous regeneration of trees on their fields for some 20 years now. 5 million hectares have been turned green already this way! At an average density of 40 trees per hectare that makes some 20 million trees. This makes it the largest reforestation initiative ever to have occurred in Africa - and one carried out largely through farmers' own initia-tives; in fact, the government and international agencies were hardly aware that it was happening. This strategy is called RNA: Régénération Naturelle Assistée, or Assisted Natural Regeneration.
Both ENDS and the VU-CIS have engaged with local scientists (CRESA Niamey) and NGOs to spread the succesful RNA approach to other areas within Niger. The Turing Foundation funds our joint regreening project in the area around Dogondoutchi. A visit to this area shows that the project is well underway - everywhere young trees can be spotted among the millet stubbles. To the trained eye it is very clear that a revolution is going on here: all the young trees are well pruned, the evidence of organised action. Such action is much needed - trees can save lives in periods of drought. This year the harvest of millet has failed because of the little rain. Everywhere we saw pruned or cut trees - people sell the (fire)wood in order to earn some money and buy food. This way the trees help them through the dry period, making RNA a vital approach to food security and creating local resilience.
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /
Towards a socially and environmentally just energy transition
To address the climate crisis we need to urgently transition away from fossil fuels towards clean, renewable energy. However, this transition is not only about changing energy sources. It requires an inclusive and fair process that tackles systemic inequalities and demanding consumption patterns, prioritizes environmental and social justice, and which does not repeat mistakes from the past.
-
Blog / 30 January 2025
Brumadinho’s painful “seas of mud”
By Carolina de Moura
Six years ago, Brumadinho tailings dam I, from the Paraopeba Complex, owned by mining company Vale, collapsed. January 25th, 2019, forever changed the lives of thousands. The scars remain open, and the quest for justice, remembrance, and prevention of future mining crimes endures despite all adversities. This was manslaughter coupled with socio-environmental devastation of proportions difficult to measure. These are irreparable losses and damages that could have been avoided if it wasn’t for the greed, negligence, and irresponsibility of decision-makers at Vale, the German certification firm Tüv Süd, and the state of Minas Gerais.
-
Blog / 28 January 2025
Sinking promises in Manila
Yesterday, Global Witness published a new report, "Sunk Costs" - in which I had a modest role to play - that comes up with new facts about the disastrous New Manila International Airport project in the Philippines, for which the Dutch dredging multinational Boskalis received Dutch export credit insurance (ekv) of €1.5 billion.
-
News / 22 January 2025
-
Publication / 16 January 2025
-
News / 16 January 2025
DetoX: Both ENDS leaves X
Both ENDS, along with many other Dutch organisations, is leaving social media platform X. In January, we will join the campaign ‘#DetoX’ by De Goede Zaak and Stem op een Vrouw. We hope that many organisations will follow us so that the hate, misinformation and the undermining of democracy on X are given less space.
-
News / 13 January 2025
New partnership with Netherlands Enterprise Agency for resilient food systems in Sahel
The situation in Africa's Sahel is the world's fastest-growing humanitarian crisis. Over 3 million people are fleeing violence. They are ravaged by hunger, disease and increasing drought caused by climate change. Both ENDS and its partners are successfully working on accelerating the resilience of local food systems and communities in the Sahel, based on ‘Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration’ (FMNR). The project, funded by DOB Ecology, will end in mid-2026, but has already been followed up thanks to a new collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
-
Publication / 9 January 2025
-
Publication / 8 January 2025
-
Publication / 7 January 2025
-
Video / 6 January 2025
-
Publication / 6 January 2025
-
Publication / 6 January 2025
-
Publication / 3 January 2025
-
Video / 3 January 2025
Dare to Trust: Jarai Women of Cambodia
With the Dare to Trust grant, the Taing Se Malu organization decided to purchase pigs that can be raised and increased in quantities by the women members of their organization. More importantly, through the grant, they formed a women’s group and a youth group to empower them in their pursuit of a more gender-just community.
-
Video / 3 January 2025
Dare to Trust: the Tumandok Women from the Philippines
With resources that the ATBBB women's group received for their Dare to Trust-project, they decided to move forward with growing, processing and selling what they have at their disposal: coffee. They created a production center for their community based enterprise.
-
Video / 3 January 2025
NTFP-EP Asia supports women's groups with Dare to Trust-grants
NTFP-EP Asia has given small grants to two grassroots women’s organisations in the Philippines and Cambodia. These grants are part of our Dare to Trust project, a pilot with unconditional funding supported by the Dutch Postcode Lottery.
-
Publication / 23 December 2024
-
Video / 23 December 2024
Dare to Trust: LILAK supports women to start sustainable agriculture
Indigenous women in Didipio, Philippines, grew close to each other when confronting the mining corporation OceanaGold. Now they continue their struggle collectively in the women's group "Bileg Daggiti Babbai". With the help of LILAK they started a sustainable farming project, which helps them make a living to support their day to day needs and afford their children's education.
The project was made possible in Both ENDS's Dare to Trust project, supported by the Dutch Postcode Lottery.
-
Publication / 23 December 2024